Looking Ahead – Short Film in Development

It’s no secret that I’ve been writing a surfing-related short film. However, I don’t want to give away the content of the short. I do promise you that it will explore topics that haven’t been thoroughly covered in previously made surfer films.

Lately, actually for the longest time, I’ve been watching surfer films religiously, from ridiculous ones like this and this to lauded one like this, and pretty much whatever that pops up on Vimeo’s surfer channels/groups. I’ve also been reading and researching on surfing localism. And Los Angeles alone had some crazy tales of violent incidents.

On top devoting a portion of my own savings, I intend to use either kickstarter or indiegogo to fund this project. Recent news of big names such as Zach Braff raising funds via crowdfunding is encouraging. There is negativity towards established stars asking for money on kickstarter, but I don’t see it as a bad thing. Sure, there are a finite number of crowdfunding backers and they have a finite amount of cash they would contribute to projects. They might not back small, no-name indie shorts after backing a feature from dude who made Garden State. But here are the benefits I see:

If big names are using kickstarter as a viable funding option, they are raising the playing field and making crowdfunding mainstream. The crowdfunding market is still relatively small. Big projects such as Zach Braff’s accelerates the market growth.

This gives pressure to all project creators to step up their game, and thus weeding out the bottom rung. Unique social media campaigns need to formulate and executed to compete against those of established figures.

Big names can make projects without all the big studio politics and bullshit. So in theory, they can be at their creative best. They could tell stories from their heart rather than stories that yield the highest potential box office.

Sure, the money from backers is something that do not need to be given back. However, big names have a lot to lose if their crowdfunded projects turn out to be flops. When you get your fanbase to become stakeholders of your film and you fail to deliver, good luck on financing your next multimillion kickstarter project.

With all that said, y’all wanna help out with my project once I launch the campaign? 😉 😉 😉